There Was Summertime, Sweet Times, and You
by KLJacko
Summary: AU MS It was much too early in the morning for noisy lawn mowers, but the guy pushing it couldn't have come at a more perfect time.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yes, yes. It's been SO long since I've posted anything on here, and for that I'm sorry. But now it's summer, I'm jobless, broke... The point is, I'm using this time to write more for you guys! I watched _The Final Act_ and my Miroku/Sango feels kicked back in, so why not more fics? But here you go! Review and give me some suggestions for later chapters in this fic and for fics you'd like to see written! :)**

Sango dropped just a few of many bags on her bedroom floor, her father and brother trailing behind her with even more belongings. After completing her sophomore year of college, it was finally summertime. She was excited to be moving back home; she missed her family so much! After a sometimes stressful, but mostly decent year at school, Sango welcomed the summer months as an opportunity to relax. She stood with her hands on her hips and surveyed the bags and boxes scattered on the floor. Why did she have so much stuff?

"Gee, sis. Sure you didn't forget anything?" her brother asked as he attempted to tiptoe through the sea of items to sit on the bed. Sango rolled her eyes with a smile at her little brother. He was still an underclassman in high school and wouldn't be able to understand the complications of bringing her things back and forth between home and school. He'd be in her position soon enough, though.

Her father echoed her thoughts, "Now, Kohaku, moving back home is all part of the college experience. Pretty soon we'll be carrying thousands upon thousands of bags into your room!" Sango caught the quip at her and rolled her eyes again. It wasn't her fault she'd accumulated a lot of things! "Look, are you two gonna make fun of me all day or help me put this stuff up?"

Her brother and father looked at one another and quickly fumbled through the clutter toward the door. Sango stood wide eyed as they tried to squeeze through at the same time and wound up crashing into one another, then to the floor. Sango hopped through her belongings and leaned on the door frame, looking at her family moaning in pain. She let out a loud laugh and joined them on the floor. "So, I'm guessing neither of you is helping me?" Both males moaned again, and they all erupted into laughter lying on the floor.

When they'd all quieted down Sango said, "Well the least you can do is order some pizza."

"Anything for you, kid," her father said as he stood up, "I'm glad my girl's back home." Kohaku chimed in, "Me too, sis."

Sango sorted through as much as she could before the pizza arrived. To her it looked like she made admirable progress, but when her brother walked by her room he said, "Wait, you unpacked?" She gave him a light punch in the arm and ruffled his hair as they walked downstairs to the kitchen together. The smell of pepperoni pizza had engulfed the whole house and it reminded Sango of Friday night movies with her brother and dad. It felt so good to be home.

The small family ate their simple meal and laughed and traded stories of things that happened since they were last together, and of silly situations from the past. They were reminiscing over the time Kohaku slipped on some wet grass during one of his baseball games when their father piped up, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I'm having someone come over to cut the grass tomorrow. I'd do it myself, but with summer starting, more people are coming into the store looking for things to spruce up their yards."

"Ok," Sango said. Kohaku had skipped school that day to pick his sister up, so he'd have to go back tomorrow. Her father's hardware, lawn, and gardening store was thriving despite the larger name brand stores that were beginning to pop up. She was proud of his hard work to keep it up for so many years. She remembered all the times she spent the day with him while he worked in that place. _Guess I'll be alone for the day_, she thought.

"So is there anything I need to do? Pay the guy, give him a glass of water?" she asked as she wiped her hands with a napkin.

"I'll leave the money here on the counter tomorrow. When I talked with him on the phone, he said he would be here between eight and one," her father answered. Sango cringed at the idea of having to be awake so early. _Eight?_ She had spent the entire day packing and cleaning and looked forward to plopping onto her bed for the night.

Sango sighed and downed the rest of her pop before setting her plate in the sink. She bid her father and brother goodnight and went back to her room to further unpack her things. She checked the clock on her desk. _Nearly nine. I bet I can have all this stuff put up in no time. _When she finally had everything organized and cleaned, it was a little past midnight. Tired and hot from all the moving, Sango took her pants and bra off, slipped on a t-shirt, and finger combed her hair into a high bun. She flipped the light off and went to sleep immediately.

The roar of a lawn mower starting up right outside her window scared Sango awake. "What the fuuuck," she groaned into her pillow. She stared at the clock through hazy eyes. It was eight o'clock on the dot. _Is this guy fucking kidding me?_ She rolled out of bed and stumbled with wobbly, still asleep legs downstairs. She literally had a hand on the doorknob until she happened to glance in the large mirror near the front door and acknowledged her appearance. "Shit," she cursed and huffed loudly.

She plodded back up the stairs to her room to put some pants and a bra on. She peeked out the window to see exactly who the asshole was that saw nothing wrong with firing up a lawn mower this early in the morning. She just missed him and saw only his back. He wore a white t-shirt and jeans, and she thought she saw a gold earring glint in the early morning sun. _Asshole._

Now clothed, Sango took her hair out of the bun that got messy during sleep and redid it quickly. She walked back downstairs, the loudness of the lawn mower only increasing the closer she got. She opened the front door and didn't see they guy immediately. She looked on either side of the yard and saw him moving the mower on the left, his back to her once again.

"Hey!" she yelled to the man. He didn't turn around, just kept pushing the obnoxiously loud machine. She stalked through the lawn, realizing she forgot to put shoes on when with every step, globs of loose grass stuck to her bare feet. She called out again and he still didn't turn around. She became increasingly more irritated and walked faster. She got close enough to him and patted him on the back, "Hey!" The guy jumped and turned around quickly.

_Whoa…_

She was met with the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen, in real life that is. His eyes were wild and alert, frightened from the unexpected touch. And they were beautiful eyes too, a deep, strange shade of blue that she'd never seen before. He looked to be no older than Sango herself, maybe a couple of years older. He had the slightest bit of stubble on his face, black hair that mixed with a thin sheen of sweat and stuck to his forehead, a beautiful glowing tan, and headphones stuck in his ears. No wonder he didn't hear her yelling.

She almost forgot that she was angry. Almost.

He just stood there looking at her, face changing from alarmed to interested. His eyes roamed her face, and then settled on her eyes. The guy blinked hard and plucked the headphones from his ears, "Yeah?"

"Why are you here so early?" Sango said with a shout.

"What?"

"Why are you h—"  
"Hold on," he cut the engine of the mower and wiped his forehead with the bottom of his shirt, exposing his incredible abs. Sango snuck a peek shamelessly and raised her eyebrows. _Is this guy for real?_

He put his shirt back down, "Now what were you saying, miss?"

"I, uh," she stuttered goofily, "I was asking why you were here so early? You woke me up."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I knocked and rang the doorbell for a while and no one answered, so I just got to work," he answered, those strange blue eyes showing nothing but sincerity. Sango guessed she was in a really deep sleep because she didn't hear any knocking.

"At eight in the morning though? From what I was told you had a pretty wide time gap that you said you'd be here. Why would you come here at this ungodly hour?"

"I have a long list of customers that I need to get to today. I arrange houses by their distance from both the other customers and my job. Your house is the furthest away," he said matter-of-factly with a smile. Sango was annoyed by the minor smugness in his reply. It didn't help that he leaned on the silenced lawn mower as if he was waiting for their conversation to end. Her eyebrows furrowed and she rolled her eyes. He just kept leaning and looking gorgeous.

"Just keep it down, alright?" Sango ordered, folding her arms.

He looked down at the mower, puzzled, and then back at her, "I'll try."

Sango could feel the guy watching her as she walked because he never started the mower. She turned around to look at him when she got to the doorway and found him looking right back.

"You won't get paid standing there gawking," she shouted at him.

"Looking at a pretty girl is all the payment I need."

Sango could feel the blush rising in her cheeks. The guy smiled and popped his earphones back in, starting the mower. Once again, the morning was filled with the loudness of the machine.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hearing nothing but good things from you guys so far. Keep your reviews coming & leave suggestions for upcoming chapters and other fics you may like to see! **

**I don't own ****_Inuyasha _****or any of its characters.**

Sango went to the kitchen and reheated the leftover slices of pizza from the night before. As she picked an individual pepperoni and ate it—what she always did when she ate pepperoni pizza—she pondered the meeting that happened outside. The guy was most definitely good-looking, she confirmed for herself; there was no doubt about that. Even though she was peeved at the early morning wake-up call he and that blasted lawn mower had given her, he seemed to be apologetic about it. Sango acknowledged her appearance once again and sighed. She'd just been startled out of her sleep, pissed off because of that, her face was probably greasier than a plate of bacon, and she had neither showered nor brushed her teeth yet. _Oh my god, that's gross!_ But he showed sincere interest in her, not even concerned with any of the things the girl was mentally kicking herself for. That made Sango smile.

After she ate a couple of more slices of pizza, Sango made her way to the bathroom to try and dwindle that list of things to do to keep herself hygienic. She prided herself on her quick routine and was out of the bathroom in no more than twenty minutes, and she had even washed her long, thick hair. She went to her room, applied lotion and deodorant, and got dressed in bright green shorts and a white t-shirt with her university's name embroidered on the front. She neatly braided her wet hair back and secured it with a small rubber band. Sango was wide awake for now, but she was certain that after Mr. Mower left she'd be conked out in her bed.

Speaking of which, the lawn mower was quiet for the second time that morning. Sango peeked out the front window to see the man loading yard supplies in the bed of a black truck. She decided since he'd been on time—much to her chagrin—and got done fairly quickly, he deserved a bottle of water. She got one from the refrigerator and made sure to grab his payment. Twenty-five dollars sat on the counter where her father said he'd leave it. She slipped on her running shoes from the hall closet near the door on before she stepped out.

He'd already began to make his way to the front door when Sango came out. He smiled warmly, "I hope I kept the noise down for you."

"Could have been quieter."

"I'll remember that for next time."

_Is this guy flirting with me? _Despite herself, she smiled back.

"I'm Miroku, by the way," he held out a hand.

"Sango," she replied and gripped it firmly. He looked straight into her eyes the whole time, that kind smile never leaving his face. She could always tell when a person was interested in meeting her by their handshake. It was something her father taught her and she kept it in mind when meeting new people. Miroku's handshake was tight and genuine.

"Here, this is for you," Sango handed him the bottle of water. He expressed thanks and opened the bottle, downing half. Sango used this time to check him out further and noticed he had three earrings and even a little ponytail pulled at the nape of his neck. He was unlike any other man she'd ever seen before.

"Thank you," he said again, "I really needed that." The two stood in silence for a while. Sango looked around the lawn and took note of the great job Miroku had done. He even raked the clumps of grass that got left over and swept the walkway. She wouldn't call herself a yard expert, but she was impressed.

He noticed her gaze and said, "What can I say, I'm efficient."

Sango nodded, "You did a good job. My dad's been working a lot and doesn't have the time to come out here and keep the yard together. I'm sure he's thankful for your work."

"It's no problem, glad to help out. I'm also glad for the wonderful hospitality his beautiful daughter gave me," he said charmingly.

_Yup, he's definitely flirting with me._

Sango gave a small chuckle, "It's no problem, glad to help out." Miroku laughed at his words being repeated and told Sango meeting her was a great way to start his morning, "Even if you would say differently about me. I really am sorry I woke you up; I know how important sleep is."

Sango could feel the blush coming back to her face. She wondered if there was a procedure that could surgically remove the blood vessels in her cheeks since they seemed to be working overtime when sexy, charming yard workers were around. "Uh, thanks." _Mush mode activated, huh old girl?_

"You go to Northern?" Miroku asked with a quick point to Sango's shirt. She looked down at it and nodded, "Yeah, I just finished my second year yesterday. Are you in school?"

"I went to Takahashi University—you know about Takahashi, right?" Sango nodded. Takahashi was the smaller school not far from her larger campus.

Miroku continued, "I went to TU for two-and-a -half years before I decided to hold off on school for a while." It wasn't uncommon at all for some students to temporarily leave college; sometimes Sango found herself contemplating leaving for a break when she couldn't handle it all.

She was about to ask Miroku why he left when she noticed how close he'd gotten to her. He was close enough for her to smell the faintness of his cologne and notice the small birthmark on his neck that was shaped like an 'L'. His eyes flickered with a slyness that both attracted her and made her wary. As good-looking as he was, he was still intruding her personal space. She'd opened her mouth to tell him to step back when she felt his hand on her butt, giving it a light squeeze.

"What the fuck?!"

Sango did the first thing that came to mind and punched him right in the face. A short, but noisy sound of pain escaped the man's mouth and he cupped a hand to his aching cheek. Sango realized that she still held his payment and docked it by ten. She threw the reduced amount at him, the bills floating every which way.

"Get off my lawn!" she shouted. She gave him an icy glare that shot right through him. Miroku bent to retrieve his cash, and Sango turned on her heel back into her house.

Or that's what she had planned to do, but the door was locked.

_What in the... When did I close the door?_

This fueled her anger further, propelling her onto a whole new level of fury. Not only was she pissed off, she was embarrassed that her dramatic exit was ruined! She looked down at Miroku to see him looking up at her, an eyebrow raised. The girl huffed loudly and stomped her way to the side of the house. She picked up the spare key kept under the potted poppies next to the door and let herself in the house. She slammed the door loudly.

Sango fumed for majority of the day. She tried to distract herself by watching a show she liked on TV, but that didn't work because it was _Law & Order: SVU _and it made her want to press charges against that pervert. There wasn't much else on this time of day except for soap operas and kids' shows, so she settled for the latter. Maybe Dora and Boots could calm her down. She found that that didn't work either, because one of the sites on the map was 'tall grass', and tall grass reminded her of Miroku and his stupid lawn mower. Sango mashed the power button on the TV remote and got up from the couch. She needed to do something that would clear her mind.

She went to her room and opened the small drawer of nail polish on her desk. Maybe painting her nails would calm her down. She picked out a bright berry color and sat on her bed. Picking up her phone, she tapped the music app, selecting a playlist of songs she liked listen to when she was doing something; it always came in handy when she couldn't focus on her homework at school. She shook the bottle of polish, propped her foot on the desk chair, and began painting her toenails. As she stroked the polish brush over her toenails, she wondered if her friend Kagome was home from school yet. If she remembered correctly from last school year, Sango was home about a week before the other girl had made it back. A noise of disappointment escaped from her mouth when she realized she'd be without her friend for another six days or so.

Kagome had been Sango's best friend since the early days of high school. She was her locker neighbor and Kagome's effortless likability and spirit was impossible to brush off. The two became friends instantly and maintained that bond even through their first two years of college. Even though the two didn't talk much while they were at their respective schools, their friendship was strong despite that. They could go months without talking to one another while they focused on school, come home when they were on break, and pick up where they left off, no problem. Sango loved that about their friendship, that no matter how little they talked they could still be so close. She wanted her best friend to come home!

Applying another coat of the deep pink polish and finishing with a clear top coat, Sango was impressed with her nail-painting skills. She didn't really consider herself a beauty buff, but she knew how to doll herself up even if it wasn't often. She got up and hobbled on the heels of her feet across the hall to the bathroom to get some cotton swabs for cleaning up mistakes. Sitting back on her bed, she dipped the swabs in nail polish remover and erased any polish that got on her toes. She had just finished when the doorbell rang. She wondered who it could be, and thought that maybe her father ordered some new tool. He was always buying the latest home improvement type of gadgets. _I would've thought he'd mention that though._

As steadily as she could without messing up her nails, Sango walked down the stairs and looked out the window.

_That same truck…_

All that time she spent calming herself down and suffocating in nail polish fumes went to waste. She peered through the peephole and saw Miroku looking back.


End file.
